Canada: What will it take to end physical punishment of children?

Author

Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of Public Health Sciences and School of Religion, Queen's University, Ontario

Disclosure statement

Valerie Michaelson receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. One of her grants in 2017 was a Canada 150 Connection Grant, which had the goal of formulating a theological position statement on the corporal punishment of children. She has also received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the United Church of Canada's Justice and Reconciliation Fund. She is a member of the Children's Rights Academic Network, established by the Landon Pearson Centre at Carleton University. She is third author on the study led by Frank Elgar, which is cited in the article.

Truth and reconciliation

This is about more than health. In my research, I am involved in a multi-disciplinary project in which we examine the intertwined health, religious and reconciliation issues as they relate to corporal punishment.

Banning corporal punishment in Canada would be in keeping with the AAP’s strong and research-based statement about the need for adults to avoid physically punishing children. It would also be a critical step toward reconciliation.

A combination of both legislation and public education is the most sensible plan for Canada.

Children need discipline

People ask me “What happens if my child tries to run out in front of a bus? Won’t changing this law stop me from protecting her?” Of course not! Keeping your child safe from danger is not physical punishment; It is a parental duty.

I am downplaying the importance of the legal implications of reform. But the 110 countries that have either banned or are moving towards bans of physical punishment have had to think through legal issues, and Canada can do that too.

Many groups have called for change

In 2004, a national coalition of diverse organizations facilitated by the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario published the “Joint Statement on Physical Punishment of Children and Youth.” Drawing on contemporary evidence, it draws attention to the risks posed by physical punishment and calls instead for positive approaches to discipline. It has been endorsed by 615 organizations from across Canada, including community organizations, cultural and religious groups, Indigenous groups, school boards, the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Canadian Medical Association.

Yet, the law permitting the use of physical punishment in Canada prevails.

What will it take to stop hitting our kids?

All the evidence we need to stop hitting our children is already available. Clearly, change is going to take something more. For one thing, it will require a critical examination of the cultural and religious norms and values that perpetuate this behaviour even in the face of overwhelming evidence documenting its harms. And it will require reflection on our collective tacit acceptance of violence against children.

Until that happens, and until the normalization and even justification of violence against children is called out by Canadians, our children will be at risk.

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